3/10/2011

Topics Covered
- 6 Day War
- Intifadas
- Oslo Accords
- Palestinian declaration of independence
- King David Hotel
- PLO
- 21st C. Jerusalem

I think that something that was left out of lecture today was more of a discussion about the security fence around the West Bank (though we were running out of time). While it is unfortunate that it had to be constructed, one has to take into account why it was constructed and the results of the constructions. Yes, there are issues with the routing of parts of it, and some of that is being taken care of by the Israeli government because they have changed the routs of parts of it that separate houses from their backyards for example. It is an expensive undertaking to re-route the security fence, but measures are starting to be put in place. The "West Bank Barrier" as it was referred to in class, is, in fact only 3% wall, the rest is a regular fence like a fence that we all know of and are aware of in our backyards. The wall portions are in the high security regions where extra screening is necessary because of the historic knowledge that terrorists with bombs strapped to them in some capacity came from. Since the construction of the security fence in 2002, 99% of the attempted terrorist attacks have been caught and prevented from happening. That means that out of 100 terrorists who tried to make their way through a checkpoint, 99 of them were stopped. This has saved the lives of countless people. No one will argue that it is right that anyone should have to go through a checkpoint just to get to work, but until the Palestinian people elect for themselves a legitimate government who doesn't endorse terrorism, that is just what must be. Just like it is annoying how at airports, any time we catch a flight, we must take off our shoes, be wanded down, be forbidden from taking liquids and gels on flights with us in addition to any sharp objects, we understand it all because it makes sure that terrorists don't get on planes and crash them into sky scrapers. Of course, at the beginning of the checkpoints, exceptions were made such as for ambulances. This was taken advantage of once by a woman who was legitimately in labor (not acting) who volunteered herself and her unborn baby to be put in an ambulance filled with hundreds of explosives. The ambulance was allowed through the barrier no questions asked, as was the practice of the time, and as a result, this ambulance blew up outside of an Israeli hospital killing the woman, her unborn child, the ambulance driver, and countless civilians in the area. Now, since then, ambulances need to be checked at checkpoints. Is this fair? Not at all...but what else can the Israeli government do? You can't negotiate with terrorists who care nothing for the lives of their people. At the end of the day, the issue isn't the Israeli people and the issue isn't the Palestinian people - as mentioned in class, 90% (and I would venture to say even more than that) of the people get along and have no ties to the radical groups - the issue is that there are terrorist groups in power and it is up to the powers of the world to understand that and help free the Palestinians of oppression from their own government.

As for the idea of settlements. The new "sexy" thing to say is that settlements are the obstacle to peace. All I could say is that I WISH this were true. If settlements were the obstacle to peace, the Israeli government would uproot every single one of their citizens living in settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank just to make sure that another one of their sons or daughters doesn't get hit by a rocket or isn't the target of a terrorist attack. This was the hope with the Disengagement of 2005 from Gaza. Israel uprooted every single one of their citizens from Gaza - some by force - and resettled them in Israel proper. As a result, they told the Palestinian people living in Gaza to take this land for themselves, make a homeland out of it, elect a government, and enjoy the self-rule that the Palestinians yearn for. The Palestinians held elections in 2006 and the 2 parties that were on the ballot were Hamas and Fatah - 2 terrorist organizations. Hamas won democratically (though when 2 terrorist organizations are running for an election, one has to question the democratic nature of the election). Since then, Hamas started building tunnels underneath Gaza, mostly under schools, hospitals, houses, apartment buildings...etc. and launching rockets into Israel. Since 2005 in the Disengagement, 10,000 rockets have fallen into Israel - many into a city of S'derot, right next to Gaza. Hamas now has the capacity to launch rockets into Tel Aviv (which isn't that close to Gaza), and just 2 weeks ago, 2 rockets were fired into Be'er Sheva - the 4th most populated city in Israel. The Israeli government, as does any government, has the right to protect its citizens - in fact I would argue that it is the JOB of a government to protect its citizens. If countless civilians are being targeted by rockets (not even army bases but civilian centers), the job of a government is to protect its citizens. Israel learned of these tunnels, and as a result, tried to lessen the amount of civilian casualties that would result in bombing these Hamas tunnels and launching pads by making countless phone calls, mailing countless letters, and flying over in planes and dropping letters saying that at a certain time and a certain date, they would be bombing that area because terrorists were underneath. The Israeli government warned the Gazan civilians of what would happen, told them to get out of the way, and they would help out afterwards. Hamas learns of this, and not only tells the Gazans that they aren't allowed to leave those buildings, but they send more people there to make the civilian casualty list higher. Israel has to make a decision. If they don't bomb the school or the hospital or the house that has a launching pad underneath it, tomorrow a rocket will come and the next day and the next and more and more of their citizens will be killed. It is a tricky decision, but Israel decided to bomb the areas in spite of civilians still being there. Now this doesn't justify death in any way, shape or form. Death is NEVER justified and should never happen EVER even in war zones. Death is the unfortunate truth of war zones, and Hamas is using their people as human shields. Again, the issue isn't the Palestinians and the issue isn't the Israelis - the real issue is the fact that a terrorist organization is in charge of a group of people and essentially holding them hostage in their own homes. Going back to the idea that settlements are the obstacle to peace. Since when Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, instead of peace they got rockets, who is to say that if Israel withdrew from the West Bank, the terrorists wouldn't have more space to set up rocket launching centers that can reach Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and other prominent areas in Israel. Historically, this is the sad truth. I wish it were true that settlements are the obstacle to peace - but historically we see that they just aren't. Terrorism is the obstacle to peace, and in the ideal world, the Israelis and the Palestinians would come together to get Hamas and Fatah out of power so that the Palestinians could establish their own state with a legitimate government who could provide for their needs. To anyone who says that Hamas and Fatah are OK because they provide certain amenities that wouldn't otherwise be there and are thus providing for the needs of their people, I would ask if using their people as human shields is really providing for their needs. I don't think so.

check out this link if you're interested in seeing more:
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/Janjanssen-492529-can-you-guess-the-location-of-these-photographs/

Unfortunately the neighborhoods shown in the above pictures are not for everyone. The modern buildings are for Hamas leaders and their families, far from the hope of the poor population that live in slams, overcrowded villages, in the middle of deep poverty, kept so by the ugly political and propaganda reasons sponsored by Hamas.